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So, I image a lot of you have heard the idea floated before that if Pokemon were to add another type, it should be the "Sound" type, since there are a lot of Pokemon and moves already that are based around this theme.
In my hypothetical game that I'm currently writing an outline for, I've created a fair number of new sound-based Pokemon, and I've been intending since very early on to have the final Elite Four member have a sound-themed team as one of the few bosses whose theme isn't a single type, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm being remiss in not going all the way and actually creating the Sound type. Four of the six new sound-based Pokemon I've come up with are Normal type mainly so that they can have STAB for most sound-based moves, a fifth one could easily have the Sound type added to it if it existed; and the thing that really pushed me over the edge into considering this question is that I'm thinking of making a regional variant of the Flygon line where Trapinch is Bug/Ground and Flygon is Bug/Dragon, and I'm wondering if the most appropriate typing for Vibrava is in fact Bug/Sound. (Since its thing is that its wings are undeveloped and grant only limited flight, so it instead uses them to generate sonic wave attacks, hence the "vibrate" in its name.)
Thing is though, I kind of don't want to do that. Part of the reason for that is, I will admit, that I don't feel up to designing and balancing a whole new type; I feel comfortable coming up with some types for Sound to be super effective against (more on that later), but designing the other three-quarters of a new type chart feels beyond me. The other reason, however, and the one that I feel is more objectively defensible, is that I feel that creating a Sound type would step on a bunch of existing mechanics.
The first and most obvious (IMO) problem is that Toxtricity already exists. Every other existing sound-based Pokemon could either have the Sound type added to it (eg Kricketune), have it replace one of its types, usually Normal (Exploud, Audino, and even Noivern could arguably have its Flying type replaced with Sound), or can do without actually being Sound type in my opinion (Primarina and Kommo-o, although I do think that these somewhat strengthen the argument against making a Sound type); but Toxtricity is a very heavily sound-themed Pokemon (ie if it's not Sound type, nothing is) that doesn't seem like either of its types are disposable.
But, let's suppose for argument's sake that Toxtricity's Punk Rock ability is sufficient association with sound, making it effectively an honorary Sound type even if it doesn't actually have the type - like how Dhelmise's ability makes it an honorary Steel type. And let's also suppose that I'm not making any new Pokemon that have the same problem as Toxtricity. (For the record, I have ONE, the sixth one referenced above, a Fairy/Dark type based on a banshee.) The REAL problem is, what do you do with all of the existing sound-based MOVES that are not Normal type?
Not counting status moves whose type doesn't really matter, Z-moves, and a Shadow move from Pokemon XD, by my count there are eight such moves: Bug Buzz, Clanging Scales, Disarming Voice, Eerie Spell, Overdrive, Snarl, Sparkling Aria, and Torch Song. What to do with these moves? Are they to become Sound type, and no longer be STAB moves for the Pokemon that use them? I'll say that I think that Snarl could be made Sound type instead of Dark type, and most of the rest are signature moves - but two of them are signature moves of Pokemon that I would actually want to use as part of the formalized roster of sound-based Pokemon, specifically Toxtricity and Kommo-o. Even if it's just Bug Buzz, Clanging Scales, Disarming Voice, and Overdrive, that's still enough to be a major problem in my view. What's the point of putting emphasis on sound-based Pokemon if you're also going to hurt them by making Overdrive and Clanging Scales no longer STAB moves? Especially Overdrive; the relevance of some of these moves and Pokemon is perhaps debatable, but not that one IMO. Toxtricity to me is one of the holy trinity of existing sound-based Pokemon, along with Exploud and Noivern.
It seems as though Sound is more suited to being a characteristic of moves layered on top of their type, rather than a whole type on its own. You could make all of those moves deal dual-type damage like Flying Press, but I think that would be an unelegant solution. I am in favor of creating more moves like Flying Press, but this would be too much; it would make almost half of all sound-based attacks be dual type (I count nine that are Normal type, only slightly more than the eight that are not), and so would be practically self-evident as an unideal solution.
What I'm thinking of doing instead to give some love to sound-associated Pokemon, particularly ones that learn Normal-type sound-based attacks that they don't get STAB for (like Noivern), is create a new held item (let's call it the Megaphone for simplicity) that has the following two effects:
-It boosts sound-based attacks by 50%, *IF* the holder does not already get STAB for that move. So for example Toxtricity's Boomburst would get a 50% boost in addition to the boost from Punk Rock, but Overdrive would be unaffected.
-It makes sound-based attacks used by the holder deal double damage against Psychic, Flying, and Fairy type Pokemon; my picks for what sound should be super effective against. (Which types are used here isn't really relevant to my main point; just substitute your own picks if you disagree.)
-Perhaps it could also make sound-based status moves never miss or something, for whatever that's worth.
I expect that within the context of a single battle, this item would on balance be less good than a Throat Spray, since this boosts sound-based attacks by 50% while a Throat Spray boosts ALL special attacks by 50% provided you use a sound-based move once; however, since Throat Spray is a consumable item, the Megaphone would probably be more appealing to use during a playthrough.
In conclusion, basically the point of this thread is that I'm looking for validation that creating this new held item is a better idea than creating a full-fledged Sound Type, or more generally that the latter is unnecessary even if I am putting a bunch of emphasis on sound-based Pokemon. What do you all think? Do you agree with my reasoning?
In my hypothetical game that I'm currently writing an outline for, I've created a fair number of new sound-based Pokemon, and I've been intending since very early on to have the final Elite Four member have a sound-themed team as one of the few bosses whose theme isn't a single type, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm being remiss in not going all the way and actually creating the Sound type. Four of the six new sound-based Pokemon I've come up with are Normal type mainly so that they can have STAB for most sound-based moves, a fifth one could easily have the Sound type added to it if it existed; and the thing that really pushed me over the edge into considering this question is that I'm thinking of making a regional variant of the Flygon line where Trapinch is Bug/Ground and Flygon is Bug/Dragon, and I'm wondering if the most appropriate typing for Vibrava is in fact Bug/Sound. (Since its thing is that its wings are undeveloped and grant only limited flight, so it instead uses them to generate sonic wave attacks, hence the "vibrate" in its name.)
Thing is though, I kind of don't want to do that. Part of the reason for that is, I will admit, that I don't feel up to designing and balancing a whole new type; I feel comfortable coming up with some types for Sound to be super effective against (more on that later), but designing the other three-quarters of a new type chart feels beyond me. The other reason, however, and the one that I feel is more objectively defensible, is that I feel that creating a Sound type would step on a bunch of existing mechanics.
The first and most obvious (IMO) problem is that Toxtricity already exists. Every other existing sound-based Pokemon could either have the Sound type added to it (eg Kricketune), have it replace one of its types, usually Normal (Exploud, Audino, and even Noivern could arguably have its Flying type replaced with Sound), or can do without actually being Sound type in my opinion (Primarina and Kommo-o, although I do think that these somewhat strengthen the argument against making a Sound type); but Toxtricity is a very heavily sound-themed Pokemon (ie if it's not Sound type, nothing is) that doesn't seem like either of its types are disposable.
But, let's suppose for argument's sake that Toxtricity's Punk Rock ability is sufficient association with sound, making it effectively an honorary Sound type even if it doesn't actually have the type - like how Dhelmise's ability makes it an honorary Steel type. And let's also suppose that I'm not making any new Pokemon that have the same problem as Toxtricity. (For the record, I have ONE, the sixth one referenced above, a Fairy/Dark type based on a banshee.) The REAL problem is, what do you do with all of the existing sound-based MOVES that are not Normal type?
Not counting status moves whose type doesn't really matter, Z-moves, and a Shadow move from Pokemon XD, by my count there are eight such moves: Bug Buzz, Clanging Scales, Disarming Voice, Eerie Spell, Overdrive, Snarl, Sparkling Aria, and Torch Song. What to do with these moves? Are they to become Sound type, and no longer be STAB moves for the Pokemon that use them? I'll say that I think that Snarl could be made Sound type instead of Dark type, and most of the rest are signature moves - but two of them are signature moves of Pokemon that I would actually want to use as part of the formalized roster of sound-based Pokemon, specifically Toxtricity and Kommo-o. Even if it's just Bug Buzz, Clanging Scales, Disarming Voice, and Overdrive, that's still enough to be a major problem in my view. What's the point of putting emphasis on sound-based Pokemon if you're also going to hurt them by making Overdrive and Clanging Scales no longer STAB moves? Especially Overdrive; the relevance of some of these moves and Pokemon is perhaps debatable, but not that one IMO. Toxtricity to me is one of the holy trinity of existing sound-based Pokemon, along with Exploud and Noivern.
It seems as though Sound is more suited to being a characteristic of moves layered on top of their type, rather than a whole type on its own. You could make all of those moves deal dual-type damage like Flying Press, but I think that would be an unelegant solution. I am in favor of creating more moves like Flying Press, but this would be too much; it would make almost half of all sound-based attacks be dual type (I count nine that are Normal type, only slightly more than the eight that are not), and so would be practically self-evident as an unideal solution.
What I'm thinking of doing instead to give some love to sound-associated Pokemon, particularly ones that learn Normal-type sound-based attacks that they don't get STAB for (like Noivern), is create a new held item (let's call it the Megaphone for simplicity) that has the following two effects:
-It boosts sound-based attacks by 50%, *IF* the holder does not already get STAB for that move. So for example Toxtricity's Boomburst would get a 50% boost in addition to the boost from Punk Rock, but Overdrive would be unaffected.
-It makes sound-based attacks used by the holder deal double damage against Psychic, Flying, and Fairy type Pokemon; my picks for what sound should be super effective against. (Which types are used here isn't really relevant to my main point; just substitute your own picks if you disagree.)
-Perhaps it could also make sound-based status moves never miss or something, for whatever that's worth.
I expect that within the context of a single battle, this item would on balance be less good than a Throat Spray, since this boosts sound-based attacks by 50% while a Throat Spray boosts ALL special attacks by 50% provided you use a sound-based move once; however, since Throat Spray is a consumable item, the Megaphone would probably be more appealing to use during a playthrough.
In conclusion, basically the point of this thread is that I'm looking for validation that creating this new held item is a better idea than creating a full-fledged Sound Type, or more generally that the latter is unnecessary even if I am putting a bunch of emphasis on sound-based Pokemon. What do you all think? Do you agree with my reasoning?
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